CHAPTER SEVEN
FORASECONDor two, all I could do was stand rooted to the spot, staring blankly at Nick’s broad back, narrow hips and long legs as he stalked off in the direction of the French doors that led from relative safety into wild wet mayhem. I was too busy reeling with astonishment to even think about formulating a response. And by the time it did occur to me to race after him and demand to know if he’d completely lost his mind, he’d flung open the doors as if the hounds of hell were at his heels and disappeared into the storm.
What on earth was going on? I wondered dazedly, my heart thundering as the doors slammed closed behind him. Was battling the horrendous weather really more appealing than answering my questions? Was his opinion of me genuinely that bad? And as for wanting to know why I cared what he thought of me, well, perhaps if and when he figured it out, he could letmeknow.
I got that my tirade had come out of the blue. It had taken even me by surprise—although all pressure cookers needed release at some point—so maybe it shouldn’t have been that much of a shock. But why the sudden need to check out the generator? He’d only just declared such an act lunacy.
I couldn’t unravel any of it. Everything was such a muddle. But really, only one thing mattered right now, and that was the fact that Nick had just taken leave of his senses and was now out there at the mercy of a savage mother nature.
What if something happened to him?
A dozen images slammed into my head then, tightening my chest and challenging my ability to breathe, but I ruthlessly shoved them away. I refused to contemplate a world without him in it. For better or worse—mostly worse, admittedly—he’d been part of my life for eighteen years, and things were just beginning to get interesting. But what could I do? I could hardly go after him. I had no choice but to trust that he knew what he was doing even though he’d looked and sounded as if he’d become unhinged.
The minutes dragged by like hours. I drank some water and ate a croissant. Outside, something creaked alarmingly. Somewhere inside the house, a door slammed. I discovered there was something to be said for pacing, and that the wringing of hands was actually a thing.
All I could think about was what might be happening outside and Nick’s safe return from it. We hadn’t cleared the air. There were things I needed to know and avenues I wanted to explore—the details of which were still unclear—but apart from all that, if somethingdidhappen to him, how would I tell his mother?
She’d made such sacrifices for him, her only son. She’d worked three jobs. And yes, he’d more than paid her back, buying her a house, and supporting her to retrain as a teacher, but she’d fought so hard, so tirelessly to give him a better future, and to have him perish so senselessly—
I didn’t get to finish that thought. With a thunderous bang, the doors through which Nick had exited flew open. I leapt nearly a foot in the air and whirled around to find him striding back in. He was drenched from head to toe, the rain sluicing off him as he battled to close the doors behind him. His shirt was plastered to his body. His jeans had darkened to navy. A puddle was forming at his feet, but he was alive and looked to be in one piece, and the relief was so immense it nearly took out my knees before swiftly morphing into a tsunami of red-hot anger.
‘Are you mad?’ I yelled as I stalked towards him on legs that were shaking so hard they were barely keeping me upright. ‘What the hell were youthinking? How could you be so bloody irresponsible?’
‘I needed some air,’ he said, shoving a hand through his hair and dashing the water from his eyes.
Air?Air?Had he taken a blow to the head? Mine was about to explode. ‘You said you weren’t reckless but you could have beenkilled.’
‘You care,’ he said, stalking towards the downstairs bathroom, leaving a wet sandy trail in his wake. ‘I’m touched.’
As I followed him, every cell of my body in turmoil, I didn’t know whether I wanted to hug him or strangle him. Probably both. Because I cared more than I wanted to admit, which made no sense at all.
‘You’re definitely touched,’ I said grimly, watching him grab a towel and rub it over his head. ‘And to think I’m trusting you with my fortune.Imust be mad.’
‘We need power.’
‘And do we have it?’ I demanded. ‘Because as far as I can tell the lights are still out.’
He tossed the towel onto the towel rail and strode past me. ‘No. We don’t. It would appear the problem with the generator isn’t an easy fix.’
‘So you risked your life fornothing.’
‘Not for nothing,’ he said flatly, heading for the staircase. ‘For my sanity.’
‘Your sanity? You must be joking.’
‘I can’t think of anything I find less amusing.’
‘Am I honestly that bad? Were my questions really that difficult to answer?’
‘You have no idea.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘Who knows? I sure as hell don’t.’
‘You’re not making sense.’
‘You’re driving me insane.’